^{Kisumu, Kenya, one of nine Millennium Cities}

The Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI), an urban counterpart to the Millennium Villages Project, is assisting selected mid-sized cities across sub-Saharan Africa in their efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). 

The Initiative is focused on the capitals of the regions where the Millennium Villages Project is enabling farmers to transition from sub-subsistence farming to commercial agricultural and non-agricultural activities, with the help of an integrated package of interventions in agriculture, health, education and enterprise development. The MCI was established to complement this work by strengthening the farm-to-market linkages between the countryside and these secondary cities. By concentrating on policy analysis impacting foreign direct investment (FDI), the MCI aims to engender a climate in which foreign investment can thrive, thereby creating employment, stimulating domestic enterprise development and fostering economic growth. In addition, the MCI is helping the Millennium Cities to carry out needs assessments in a wide array of social sectors, the data from which will enable the Millennium Cities to generate integrated City Development Strategies that are explicitly predicated on achieving the MDGs.

Overall, the Initiative will demonstrate, through its research and policy analysis, that more FDI can be attracted to regional urban centers in sub-Saharan Africa, with the resulting beneficial employment and economic growth effects. The urban development strategies produced by and for the Millennium Cities themselves will apprise national governments and their donors of each city’s priorities and chart a path toward their realization. These City Development Strategies, as well as a MCI Handbook chronicling the project’s processes and best practices, will serve as templates for the replication and scaling of the Initiative to other similarly underserved urban settings across sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.

The MCI is currently operating in nine locations in seven countries.

RECENT NEWS & EVENTS

MCI holds Investment Day, London, December 9 -10, 2008

MCI Releases First Social Sector Working Paper to Measure Progress Toward Achieving the MDGs

MCI RECEIVES LANDMARK $1.9 MILLION CHALLENGE GIFT

MCI to hold Millennium Cities London Day, December 9th-10th 2008

MCI Partnership with Government of Israel Benefits Millennium Cities